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May 26 2012
Davos-Like Political Forum in Istanbul Highlights Turkey's Growing Clout
by Alisa Balakishiyeva
Last week became remarkable for Turkey as its capital hosted the
second annual World Political Forum where global political issues were
discussed by delegations from 56 countries. By creating a Davos-like
event, Istanbul aims to be the world's newest financial and political
center.
Democratization process in Arab countries, international security
issues, regional powers and conflict resolutions were discussed in a
two-day forum. A member of the British Parliament, Denis MacShane,
while speaking at the forum's opening ceremony, mentioned Turkey's
geostrategic importance. He said that the world is "moving east" and
that Istanbul will be a new center of the world.
Ahmed Harara, a blind hero of Egyptian revolution, and Time magazine
Person of the Year talked about the current situation of Egypt and
democracy in the Arab World. Harara said, `Mubarak held on to fear for
30 years, and his reach continues into today. We want freedom, as we
always have. But the military and other powers continue to work
against that.'
As the forum was held in Istanbul, speakers and organizers sought to
underline Turkey's growing importance in economic and political issues
around the globe. One of the most heated debates was the conflict
between Iran and Israel and interestingly there was not an official
delegation from Iran. Professor of International Relations at Harvard
University, Stephen Walt, suggested that if the U.S. wants to prevent
Iran from building a nuclear weapon first of all they should stop
threatening Iran with "regime change."
He also added that the U.S. and Israel are bluffing and they are not
going to attack Iran, although he said that we all had witnessed some
`quite inadequate' decisions by leaders such as the invasion of Iraq.
Former U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Dov Zakheim and journalist
Stephen Kinzer admitted that the problem is getting worse and Turkey
as a regional power and mediator could be the country that can make
efforts to bring the two sides together.
Other regional problems also were discussed during the forum, and one
of them was a Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan
and the competition for supremacy in the Caucasus.
Oil-rich Azerbaijan is playing an important role for the West, but a
frozen conflict of over 20% of Azerbaijani territories occupied by
Armenia has remained unresolved for more than 20 years. Chief of the
Political Analysis and Information Department of Administration of the
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Elnur Aslanov, mentioned
neighboring Iran's "attempts to pursue its ideological policies' and a
deterioration in bilateral relations between Iran and Azerbaijan due
to Iran's religious propaganda in Azerbaijan.
He also spoke about Russia's responsibilities in the issue and
mentioned that in recent years Russia has initiated numerous
trilateral meetings between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On the other hand
Yossef Bodansky, director of the International Strategic Studies
Association in the U.S., said that Azerbaijan is the country which can
both gain lose the most out of this political game, therefore
Azerbaijan should seek for alternative solutions and in this case it
should find ways to negotiate with Russia and should not wait for the
support from the United States.
The idea to bring together politicians and scholars was successfully
conducted in the second World Political Forum. As the head of the
forum, Ahmet Eyup Ezguch mentioned that in a few years they could
easily compete with the main economical annual event of the The World
Economic Forum in Davos.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/8887/davos-like-political-forum-in-istanbul-highlights-turkey-s-growing-clout
May 26 2012
Davos-Like Political Forum in Istanbul Highlights Turkey's Growing Clout
by Alisa Balakishiyeva
Last week became remarkable for Turkey as its capital hosted the
second annual World Political Forum where global political issues were
discussed by delegations from 56 countries. By creating a Davos-like
event, Istanbul aims to be the world's newest financial and political
center.
Democratization process in Arab countries, international security
issues, regional powers and conflict resolutions were discussed in a
two-day forum. A member of the British Parliament, Denis MacShane,
while speaking at the forum's opening ceremony, mentioned Turkey's
geostrategic importance. He said that the world is "moving east" and
that Istanbul will be a new center of the world.
Ahmed Harara, a blind hero of Egyptian revolution, and Time magazine
Person of the Year talked about the current situation of Egypt and
democracy in the Arab World. Harara said, `Mubarak held on to fear for
30 years, and his reach continues into today. We want freedom, as we
always have. But the military and other powers continue to work
against that.'
As the forum was held in Istanbul, speakers and organizers sought to
underline Turkey's growing importance in economic and political issues
around the globe. One of the most heated debates was the conflict
between Iran and Israel and interestingly there was not an official
delegation from Iran. Professor of International Relations at Harvard
University, Stephen Walt, suggested that if the U.S. wants to prevent
Iran from building a nuclear weapon first of all they should stop
threatening Iran with "regime change."
He also added that the U.S. and Israel are bluffing and they are not
going to attack Iran, although he said that we all had witnessed some
`quite inadequate' decisions by leaders such as the invasion of Iraq.
Former U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Dov Zakheim and journalist
Stephen Kinzer admitted that the problem is getting worse and Turkey
as a regional power and mediator could be the country that can make
efforts to bring the two sides together.
Other regional problems also were discussed during the forum, and one
of them was a Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan
and the competition for supremacy in the Caucasus.
Oil-rich Azerbaijan is playing an important role for the West, but a
frozen conflict of over 20% of Azerbaijani territories occupied by
Armenia has remained unresolved for more than 20 years. Chief of the
Political Analysis and Information Department of Administration of the
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Elnur Aslanov, mentioned
neighboring Iran's "attempts to pursue its ideological policies' and a
deterioration in bilateral relations between Iran and Azerbaijan due
to Iran's religious propaganda in Azerbaijan.
He also spoke about Russia's responsibilities in the issue and
mentioned that in recent years Russia has initiated numerous
trilateral meetings between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On the other hand
Yossef Bodansky, director of the International Strategic Studies
Association in the U.S., said that Azerbaijan is the country which can
both gain lose the most out of this political game, therefore
Azerbaijan should seek for alternative solutions and in this case it
should find ways to negotiate with Russia and should not wait for the
support from the United States.
The idea to bring together politicians and scholars was successfully
conducted in the second World Political Forum. As the head of the
forum, Ahmet Eyup Ezguch mentioned that in a few years they could
easily compete with the main economical annual event of the The World
Economic Forum in Davos.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/8887/davos-like-political-forum-in-istanbul-highlights-turkey-s-growing-clout